NWS storm total rainfall shows a band of 2″ to 3″ rainfall from near Marshall into the southern Metro Saturday night.

Welcome to the June Monsoon.

We’ve just experienced the wettest June in 8 years in the metro and much of Minnesota. So far this month, 6.25″ of rain has fallen at Twin Cities International Airport. That’s about 2.25″ above average for the month, and marks the wettest June since 2002 when 8.30″ fell in the Twin Cities.

Many communities in southern Minnesota have recorded similar rainfall totals.

NOAA rainfall analysis for the past 14 days shows general 2″ to 4″ rainfall in southern Minnesota, with some pockets of 6″ rainfall. Some areas in Iowa picked up 6″ to 10″ during the past two weeks.

The number of preliminary severe weather reports in the NWS Chanhassen county warning area during the ten day stretch from June 17th-26th was 199. Prior to that, 23 reports of severe weather had been received. The amount of preliminary severe weather reports across the country has spiked as well during the same stretch, with June 17th being initially the most active tornado day in the country so far in 2010.

The weather maps insist the rest of June will remain dry, and the next chance of storms will not approach the region until late Saturday or Sunday.

The suns sets this week in the Twin Cities at 9:03pm. This marks the latest sunset time of the year in the northern hemisphere. Here are some sunset times this week for select Minnesota locations. Since the sun sets north or due west this week, note that the sun sets later as you move northwest.

About the blogger

Paul Huttner is chief meteorologist for Minnesota Public Radio. Huttner has worked TV and radio stations in Minneapolis, Tucson and Chicago. Paul is a graduate of Macalester College in St. Paul and holds a bachelor’s degree in geography with an emphasis in meteorology.